Day Seven....

It’s day x of being the facilitator of the "writing for young adults" lab at Sage Hill Writing Experience. Okay, I'm losing track. I think it's day nine right now, but I'm going to write about day seven which was the 20th Anniversary Celebration of Sage Hill. Yeah, Sage Hill is officially out of the teen years. The event, like all good events, started with a bit of banjo/drums/violin and singing. Just a typical day at Sage Hill.
Next we moved into the church to listen to Richard Ford's keynote address. It was about "becoming a writer" with the preambled warning that he was a writer so it would be hard to tell truth from fiction. His gloriously southern-accented voice took us for a stroll through his childhood in Mississippi, his relationship with his parents, and his first publications. The talk was well received and well attended despite the fact the Saskatchewan Roughriders were playing at the same time (they lost--stupid Roughriders).
We then went outside to the tent. There was free champagne. Yes, you read that right. These galas are decadent aren't they! And a wonderful jazz trio from Saskatoon. And there were speeches that made me salivate. Well, they were excellent speeches, but I was salivating because I could smell the hamburgers. There's nothing like hamburgers and champagne. Oh, and cake, too. Mmm cake (this is getting kind of stream of consciousness, isn't it?). I'm just trying to explain that this event had everything.
Even famous science fiction writer Robert Sawyer. Notice how I'm attempting to steal his spotlight. There were paparazzi everywhere taking his picture and I made sure I was in every snap. Did I mention there was free champagne?

Oh, there were classes that day, too. And that was the day I told them the secret to being published and making millions of dollars. I would share that with you, too, but the FBI are watching so I can't.

Art